New Psycoactive Substances, Edition 5

New psychoactive substances (NPS) have been emerging onto the recreational drug scene at an unprecedented rate. In parallel the number of substances notified to the EU Early Warning System (EWS) each year is increasing, and shows no signs of abating. In 2015, 98 new compounds were reported for the first time, bringing the total number of substances monitored to more than 560 since 2008.

NPS have emerged from a number of different chemical classes (piperazines, cathinones, phenethylamines, aminoindanes, piperidines and pyrrolidines, benzofurans, arylcyclohexylamines, tryptamines, synthetic cannabinoids…), most of which fall broadly into three categories: stimulants, hallucinogens or synthetic cannabinoids. Outwith these, synthetic opioids; AH-7921, MT-45 and designer fentanyls are making a marked appearance, as well as increasing number of new, uncontrolled benzodiazepines (n=14).

Synthetic cannabinoids are the largest category of new drugs monitored by the EMCDDA (n=160) with 24 being detected in 2015. This is followed by synthetic cathinones (n=103), 26 of which were identified in 2015.

Chiron strive to meet customer demand for NPS reference materials, and work closely with clinical and forensic institutions to this effect. This catalogue lists the wide range of available standards for NPS and associated substances offered by Chiron. We now also offer mixes of NPS as well as custom made solutions.